Rodney King, L.A. police beating victim, dies

RODNEY KING 1965-2012

Washington Post

Published 4:00 am, Monday, June 18, 2012

Photo: George Holliday / George Holliday / Associated Press

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This March 3, 1991, image made from video provided by KTLA Los Angeles shows police officers beating Rodney King. The beating was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history. (AP Photo/Courtesy of KTLA Los Angeles, George Holliday) less

This March 3, 1991, image made from video provided by KTLA Los Angeles shows police officers beating Rodney King. The beating was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's ... more

Photo: George Holliday / George Holliday / Associated Press

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This May 1, 1992 file photo shows Rodney King making a statement at a Los Angeles news conference. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. less

This May 1, 1992 file photo shows Rodney King making a statement at a Los Angeles news conference. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for ... more

Photo: David Longstreath, Associated Press

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Rodney King arrives at the EsoWon books store to sign copies of his new book, "The Riot Within: My Journey From Rebellion to Redemption," on April 30, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. It was reported on June 17, 2012 that King, 47, was found dead at the bottom of a swimming pool on Sunday. He became famous after being beaten by a group of Los Angeles police officers in 1992. less

Rodney King arrives at the EsoWon books store to sign copies of his new book, "The Riot Within: My Journey From Rebellion to Redemption," on April 30, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. It was reported on June ... more

Photo: Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

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Rialto police detective Carla McCullough, right, and a photographer conduct an investigation at Rodney King's home in Rialto, Calif., Sunday, June 17, 2012. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in U.S. history, died Sunday. He was 47. King's fiancee called police to report that she found him at the bottom of the swimming pool at their home in Rialto, Calif., police Lt. Dean Hardin said. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) less

Lora (L) and Candice (C), daughters of Rodney King, cry after their father was found in bottom of his pool on June 17, 2012 in Rialto, California. King, whose video beating by Los Angeles police in 1991 sparked riots after the acquittal of the four officers involved, was found dead at the age of 47 from an apparent drowning in his swimming pool. less

Lora (L) and Candice (C), daughters of Rodney King, cry after their father was found in bottom of his pool on June 17, 2012 in Rialto, California. King, whose video beating by Los Angeles police in 1991 sparked ... more

Photo: Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

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A girl runs past Rodney King's home in Rialto, Calif., Sunday, June 17, 2012. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in U.S. history, died Sunday. He was 47. King's fiancee called police to report that she found him at the bottom of the swimming pool at their home in Rialto, Calif., police Lt. Dean Hardin said. less

A girl runs past Rodney King's home in Rialto, Calif., Sunday, June 17, 2012. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most ... more

Photo: Jae C. Hong, Associated Press

Rodney King, L.A. police beating victim, dies

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Rodney King, the black motorist whose violent beating by white Los Angeles police officers after a car chase in 1991 helped fuel one of the worst race riots in U.S. history, died Sunday. He was 47.

Mr. King apparently drowned at his home in Rialto (San Bernardino County), according to local police. His fiancee called 911 early Sunday, saying she had discovered Mr. King at the bottom of his swimming pool. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A preliminary investigation showed no signs of foul play.

Two decades ago, Mr. King, then 25, found himself at the center of one of the most volatile debates over race and the law since the end of the civil rights movement. To many people, especially in the black community, he became a symbol of the police brutality that had long been inflicted on African Americans.

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"History will record that it was Rodney King's beating and his actions that made America deal with the excessive misconduct of law enforcement," the Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement after Mr. King's death.

On March 3, 1991, Mr. King was driving on a Los Angeles interstate when highway patrol officers attempted to stop him for speeding. During the high-speed chase that ensued, members of the Los Angeles police joined the pursuit and assumed control when Mr. King ultimately pulled over.

Although he got out of the car, Mr. King resisted arrest and at one point threw officers off his back. L.A. police officers testified to their fears that Mr. King appeared to be under the influence of the drug PCP, which can unleash aggression in users.

Test results would show, however, that Mr. King had been drinking. To subdue him, the officers fired a stun gun and beat him with batons, leaving him bloodied and bruised. His cheekbone, skull bones and ankle were broken.

A nearby resident, George Holliday, was wakened by the noise and began filming the incident from his apartment balcony with a camcorder. Holliday later released the grainy footage to the news media, which played and replayed the incomplete, frequently edited footage, searing the beating into national memory.

The next year, four L.A. officers were tried in connection with the incident. A California jury, with no black members, acquitted three of assault charges, and a mistrial was declared for a fourth.

Parts of Los Angeles erupted in riots, which left more than 50 people dead and more than 2,000 wounded, while hundreds of fires broke out and many businesses were looted.

"Can we get along?"

As the violence continued, Mr. King emerged from his home to make a plaintive appeal: "People, I just want to say - can we all get along? Can we get along?"

Those words have become part of the popular culture and have helped to keep his name, and the events of 20 years ago, alive in American consciousness.

Rodney Glen King was born April 2, 1965, in Sacramento. He grew up in Altadena (Los Angeles County) with several brothers and sisters. For much of his life, he was known as Glen.

He had worked in construction after dropping out of school. At the time of the beating, he was a manual laborer at Dodger Stadium and was on parole from prison. He had been sentenced after pleading guilty in a robbery.

During Mr. King's childhood and adolescence, his father had often forced Mr. King to help him with his janitorial work until 2 a.m. on school nights, sometimes beating him.

"Maybe those whuppings prepared me for Koon," Mr. King once said, referring to Sgt. Stacey Koon, one of the officers involved in case.

Although the four officers who beat Mr. King - Koon, Theodore Briseno, Timothy Wind and Laurence Powell - were acquitted of state charges, Koon and Powell were convicted of federal civil rights charges and were sentenced to more than two years in prison.

Mr. King received a $3.8 million civil judgment from the City of Los Angeles and the police department. But he quickly lost the money as he invested in a record label and other failed ventures. He was arrested multiple times for drunken driving - including last summer in Riverside.

His memoir, "The Riot Within," was released in April. In the book, Mr. King acknowledged having struggled with drugs and alcohol. After the 1991 incident, he continued to have run-ins with the law, including domestic violence charges.

Mr. King's marriages to Denetta King and Crystal Waters ended in divorce. Survivors include a daughter from an early relationship, Candace; a daughter from his first marriage, Dena; and a daughter from his second marriage, Uniqua. According to news reports, he was engaged to Cynthia Kelley, a member of the jury in his civil lawsuit.

Oakland attorney John Burris, who helped represent Mr. King in his civil lawsuit, said Sunday that Mr. King was a "historical figure" whose videotaped beating was the "first clear example of the type of brutality that the African American community was suffering. It allowed the entire community and the world to see what African Americans had been complaining about."

Preferred privacy

Mr. King was "a very common person who was not interested, nor was he prepared for the public spotlight," Burris said. "It was a challenge for him, and I think his privacy was something that was important to him."

In discussing his arrest, Mr. King once told the Los Angeles Times: "I hate that it was me. I hate that it would be anybody at the center of attention like that. I wouldn't wish that on nobody. I have to turn it around, put it behind me, which is really hard."

But, in an interview with the paper this year, he appeared to take a longer view of the significance of his arrest.

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